Call for a Global Convention on Ethical AI

The ethics of big data, of machine learning and artificial intelligence need to be discussed in a coordinated global consortium. To be legitimate and representative, the consortium should consist of academics, businesses, trade unions, consumers, governments and civil society organisations that together will create the global standards for the ethical use, development and deployment of artificial intelligence, algorithms and big data.

Isolated, disconnected initiatives, bold as they are, will not guarantee that AI and big data will put the interests of people and planet first.

Breaking the power of the Big 6

Furthermore, data, big data and the artificial intelligence and machine learning that comes out of that should be made a ‘commons’ , i.e. available for every citizen, organisation, business and government to tap in to, use and learn from. Currently, it's the Big Six (Google, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook and IBM) that predominantly own the data produced putting them into an untouchable class with undue political, scientific and economic monopoly and power.

UNI Global Union, based in Nyon, Switzerland, represents more than 20 million workers from over 600 trade unions in the fastest growing sectors in the world – skills and services. A total of 90% of new jobs are expected to be in these sectors in the next decade.
UNI and our affiliates in all regions are driven by the responsibility to ensure these jobs are decent and workers’ rights are protected